Spotlight on the Oscars Pt. II: Marketing Your Awards
Social media. In this day and age social platforms have become essential tools for marketing. This is true even for awards programs.
In part two of our spotlight on the Oscars (click here to check out part one if you haven’t had a chance yet) we’re going to focus on how the Oscars deal with social media and what we can learn from them.
As a wildly successful awards program that will have been around for 87 come February 22, they’ve got their social media marketing down pat. But, regardless of the size or scope of your program, you can take a look at what the Oscars are doing and apply the same tactics to your awards marketing plan to benefit your program!
The Academy is a Twitter powerhouse when it comes to promoting the Oscars. And, more importantly, it’s an organization that understands how to use a variety of posts to appeal to its audience members and keep them interested and engaged.
Not only has the Academy created its own hashtag for the event, but it creates specific hashtags for different stages of the awards process (like #OscarNoms). It’s important to note that the organization not only created this hashtag, but also created a launch date for its use to generate further excitement for the January 15th announcement of the nominations.
Of course, there are a variety of posts from the Academy to encourage engagement in different ways. Take this retweet for example where they aren’t just announcing nominees but are instead promoting a contest where viewers can enter to join Channing Tatum on stage for the Oscars. By combining this with a picture and link to the appropriate website, viewers can easily notice and access the information they need to enter.
As one last example, let’s look at a graphic post that the Academy used to announce nominees. What makes this great is that this graphic unique to the category it’s announcing, with a special graphic dedicated to each of the other categories as well. This makes a visitor stop and notice the nominees rather than just scrolling past the same picture several different times.
Of course, Twitter isn’t the only social media site where organizations like yours (and the Academy) can promote their awards program. Facebook is another vital tool that can generate awareness and excitement for a program.
The Academy’s Facebook page is incredibly simple and powerful, beginning with their profile picture and cover photo.
It is adjusted so that the profile picture doesn’t overlap the cover photo, making it visually interesting and ultimately successful in its impact.
Many of the same announcements made on the Twitter page are also present on the Facebook page but include different graphics or messaging to ensure that it is unique to the social platform. Below are a few examples of how the Academy makes use of graphics, calls-to-action, and links to interact with and engage visitors.
In each post, there is a link to learn more about nominees and graphics to engage visitors as they scroll down the page. This encourages visitors to go to their website and further engage with the program by casting their own votes for winners, challenging their friends, or simply learning more about the nominees, films, and individuals involved.
So, how can you adapt this social marketing strategy to your own organization? There are a few key lessons here, including:
- Your Cover Image and Profile Picture MatterOn any social platform, your cover image is an excellent opportunity to market your awards program and get users excited. Read more about how your profile picture can impact your marketing here.
- Include Links in Your PostsThe key idea behind social media marketing is to drive traffic back to your website. By including links in posts, you can shift traffic from social accounts back to your website.
- Add GraphicsGraphics are also important as they can communicate more than text can on its own. By adding relevant graphics where appropriate, you too can encourage visitors to read your posts and take action. Learn more about how to create great graphics for your program here.
- Create a Custom HashtagJust like the Academy came out with #OscarNoms for their nominations announcements, you should come up with a unique hashtag for your program. This will generate buzz about your program and help spread the word.
Even if your program isn’t as big as the Oscars or even in the same industry you can still look at some of their successes and apply their tactics for your program.
Of course, there’s always more to learn about how to market your awards on social media! To learn more be sure to download our guide!
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